maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 30/09/2026What is the point of the state, if not to look after its population, which obviously includes health and education? Even I'm not cynical enough to think that any politicians will let this happen. It isn't a winning policy. 000
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 30/09/2026I'm not of the view that AI will 'destroy' the economy. If there is one thing we have on our side as a species, it is adaptability. The techbros want to hoover up as much wealth as they can, but it ultimately won't help them. In the longer term, we are all dead. 000
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Why would there be no way to save? I don't understand how you get to this point. Why wouldn't banks lend (well, create money to lend, just as they do now)? Why would the ability to generate assets through work and earnings disappear? 200
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 30/09/2026I don't claim that UBI would be a panacea, but setting the breadline higher, making sure everyone has enough food and comfortable accommodation, has to be a good start, doesn't it? 010
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Even if UBI was given as vouchers to be spent on food/accommodation (and why should it be - welfare payments aren't?), as long as a close eye was kept on gouging, it would still be a benefit. Rent controls would be helpful as well, of course. As they would be right now. 100
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Anybody buys it. Anybody with the money to pay for it. UBI isn't an either/or thing. It's something everyone receives, whether you're a millionaire of on the breadline. Except, if you are on an effective UBI, there wouldn't be a breadline. More precisely, the breadline would be higher. 100
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Forgot to note: my sister is a musician. It was why she went to study in Finland in the first place. 100
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 30/09/2026As for the part about apartments, my sister lived a very nice life in Helsinki for a decade, living exclusively in apartments - as does almost everyone in countries which are very cold in the winter months. You might not have a shed, but if there are well-designed environs, what's the issue? 100
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 30/09/2026I don't get this line. The idea behind a UBI isn't as a subsistence measure which will be the sum total if a person's income, it's as a backstop which should theoretically allow more flexibility in your work life and encourage more than subsistence. The devil would be in the details, of course. 100
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Yes, many are very ambitious and want to lever themselves into positions of power and influence (and to get rich from it!), but even most of these wouldn't sacrifice everything for ambition. They aren't all a Farage, Johnson, Anderson etc etc, though there are too many of that type around. 020
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 29/09/2026I'd be wary of being too cynical here as it doesn't really help political debate. And I say this as somewhat of a cynic myself! I still like to think that most politicians do actually care about their constituents and want the best for the country. 121
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 28/09/2026I don't think he's a racist, truth be told. He will just do or say anything to further his political career. I don't think he has a single belief about anything other than his own ambition and this is why he is such a terrible politician. And a worse human being. A real skid mark of a person. 190
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 28/09/2026"Unlawful Decisions" is my favourite track from that record. 020
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 28/09/2026I'd imagine that would be the case, but that would also be performative guff. I must admit I'm baffled about the whole situation and the reaction to it. It would be amusing if the people arrested were out dogging though, wouldn't it? 210
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Well, yes, but if you don't have the full story, why start your speech with some performative guff? I suppose that I don't know the degree of consultation between the police and the Home Office, so perhaps they just don't get much in the way of detail. If so, I would have been more circumspect. 230
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Hmmm. If I were Home Secretary, I'd like to think that I wouldn't go on stage to make a speech without being a bit more certain about what was going on. She's just set herself up for some awkward questions about that particular news story. 171
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 28/09/2026And Mahmood has just gone on stage to say that the scene is safe thanks to the stellar work of the bomb disposal experts. If there were explosives involved, there surely wouldn't be any chance of bail! Which begs the question, is Mahmood out of the loop, or is she just being disingenuous? 1150
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 28/09/2026To be precise, it is guessing, based on the data on which it has been trained and it is really, really good at guessing. However, my understanding is that the image often doesn't have a record of the instruction used to generate it so you don't know exactly how it was trying to 'enhance' the image. 000
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 27/09/2026How about doing a Dallas? Luke Skywalker wakes up thinking he's had a crazy nonsensical dream about grandchildren and Imperial Orders and the like, shrugs and then gets on with helping to mop up the remnant of the Empire? 000
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Is he upset that they've hung the new flag the right way up? 0190
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 26/09/2026A shame, really, as Teslas are good cars, the home batteries are good, Starlink is impressive tech and SpaceX are doing innovative stuff with their rocketry. Unfortunately, the guy in charge is one of the very worst people on the planet, so a boycott it has to be! 151
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 26/09/2026There is also a great deal of stupidity involved. Heath looks forward to embracing a Mediterranean climate, but doesn't know/understand that if the North Atlantic Current disappears, which is quite feasible as the ice caps begin melt, then we'll need to get used to a Newfoundland climate. 000
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 26/09/2026Directors/show runners should be confident enough in the quality of their show to insist that each episode becomes available at a fixed time on a set day and then isn't repeated again for a year or so. This routine worked out just fine when I was a kid. 010
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 25/09/2026They've got The OA in the top 100? Interesting choice. Started interesting, quickly became quite comical and then moved onto distinctly weird (weird octopus out of nowhere?). Lots of good shows in that list, along with several I've not seen. Might be worth me having a look at one or two of them. 010
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Happily supported by the billionaire-owned right-wing media, it must be noted! 060
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Also carefully-cultivated. As long as twitter/facebook remain the wild west without any control of the misinformation and disinformation pushed by their algorithms, a certain, substantial section of the population are going to be vulnerable to this. It's basically a billionaire-funded Psyop. 1140
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Once you've suspended your critical thinking abilities in relation to one topic, it's obviously difficult to regain them for any others. Should we make a referral to Prevent? 010
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 24/09/2026*waits for government minister to make a statement acknowledging the 'understandable concerns' of historians* 020
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Oh, but he's richer than the dreams of avarice, so it's probably not of great relevance to him. 000
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 23/09/2026I watched his son interviewed on Sky earlier. He was happily pushing the idea that people who have been doing a job in the same way for, say 30 years, will find themselves out of a job unless they embrace AI. Also didn't push back at the question of whether AI makes university a waste of money! 100
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 23/09/2026The bounce-back in polling for the Tories is remarkable to see, given the utter ineptitude of Badenoch and her motley shadow cabinet, but that's as much of an indication as any that voters are moving away from the far right. Tory policy (such as it is) is still hard right, but it's something. 010
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Definite Alec Guinness/Star Wars vibes going on there. 110
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 19/09/2026He's an oily little turd. No real point of this post other than to say that. 051
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Boston and Skeg are the archetypal 'left behind' towns which voted Leave simply for a change, because, why not? (Plus xenophobia which Farage's vehicles have since stoked). I live in a different, but similar, small Lincolnshire town myself. 040
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 19/09/2026As a parent of two youngish children, I agree entirely. When it comes to putting books in the charity pile, I always made a beeline for his stuff. Julia Donaldson shows how it should be done and there are many much, much better authors. 000
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 19/09/2026His boss has spent decades doing exactly the same thing (in two different settings, no less), so not a surprise to hear that he's trying it himself. 063
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 19/09/2026No he doesn't. There aren't any income or capital gains taxes in Monaco, which is why appalling arseholes such as Ratcliffe piss off to live there. Like the rest of us, he'll find out soon enough that he can't take any of it with him. So much money, so clearly unhappy. 120
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 18/09/2026I'm her only source of information, plus whatever stuff she is fed by facebook. If your whole family gets their news from these Faux news sources and everyone you know is MAGA-ite, it is easy to see why you may just assume they are correct and all is hunky dory. 000
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 18/09/2026My wife is an intelligent woman, but has *absolutely no* interest in, or knowledge of current affairs. I can certainly say the same for her sisters and best friend - all university educated. I tell my wife about some of the ridiculous political stuff which happens. 100
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 18/09/2026I do wonder, however, how much of it is simple ignorance. If you get all of your news from Fox or News Max, or from facebook/twitter, there's a fair chance that you simply take the palpable bullshit at face value. There is also disinterest or people simply being uninformed. 100
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 18/09/2026I feel that it has to be an elaborate practical joke with these guys on a secret WhatsApp group egging each other on to see how unhinged they can get before somebody smells a rat. 030
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 17/09/2026To be fair, he was half right with that one. 010
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 16/09/2026I don't personally have the time to look through the data, unfortunately. I'm just aware that this sort of stuff is pushed by interested parties in the UK with little to no evidence to back it up and can't see any obvious reason why much would differ between the two countries. 110
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 16/09/2026As a generalisation, they aren't much use at all. It would be interesting to see if there are records of types and frequencies of crime among the age and gender groupings for Danes and the immigrants. Scary-looking bar charts not showing like for like tend to be misinformation, even disinformation. 110
maringerr.bsky.social @maringerr.bsky.social · 16/09/2026If the numbers include a lot of women in their 60s and 70s (and they will), you wouldn't expect the comparative crime rates to be anything near equal. You'd need to compare the cohort of youngish Danish men with immigrants/asylum seekers who are reportedly also mostly youngish men. 120
